TWO sets of twins have brought to 11 the number of babies who died at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Port of Spain General Hospital of suspected bacterial infections.
The babies died between February 22 and April 9.
A list of the names of the babies, their parents and the dates of their deaths was included in a pre-action protocol letter
to attorneys representing the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA), which is responsible for the hospital’s management.
On April 13, former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, and attorneys from his Freedom Law Chambers said they proposed to “file an unprecedented class action claim for medical negligence based on the mass death of seven innocent babies.”
Since then, the attorneys say more families have come forward and the number of casualties has jumped to 11.
Wednesday’s letter was sent on behalf of Farah Rattansingh of Sangre Grande, who gave birth to twins – Amari and Kyrie George – on January 6, at the Sangre Grande Hospital at 28 weeks' gestation.
The babies were transferred to the PoSGH, where they died on February 22 and 26.
The other twins were Ella and Esme Molino, born to Jodie and Travis Molino. They died on March 18 and April 4, according to the list their attorneys provided with the permission of the parents.
“We shall continue to issue more pre-action letters when we are finished interviewing these clients,” the attorneys said.
Attorneys for the families have made it clear they will not attend any meetings with NWRHA officials until their concerts are addressed and they get their children’s medical notes and records.
So far Freedom Law has sent five pre-action letters, the most recent on Wednesday.
It said after baby Kyrie was admitted to the NICU, he was intubated to help with his breathing. He had a high Apgar score, a test given to newborns soon after birth which checks the baby’s heart rate, muscle tone and other signs to see if medical care is needed.
The letter said weeks later, staff at the hospital started to wean Kyrie off the chest tubes.
However, it said when his mother visited the baby, she noticed he had started to bleed from the rib area.
Kyrie was again intubated and staff allegedly told his parents 97 per cent of his body was filled with carbon dioxide.
Two weeks later, an attempt was made to remove the intubator and the chest tubes, the letter said.
“Alarmingly, Farah and father Christopher Bhagan were not informed of the removal of the chest tubes. Farah instructs that she had visited her baby at the NICU one day to just see the tubes removed.”
The letter said the baby’s health improved and he started breathing on his own. The parents were assured all was well.
[caption id="attachment_1077804" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Avinash Chattergoon and Daynelle Samaroo cuddle their baby Aarya before her death on April 5 at the Port of Spain General Hospital. -[/caption]
On February 20, the parents noticed the baby “looking down,” but this was dismissed as normal, the letter said. Rattan
